Miramax Films is reteaming with Steven Soderbergh for the first time since 1991's Kafka on the director's next film How To Survive A Hotel Room Fire - a sequel of sorts to Soderbergh's film debut sex, lies, and videotape which was also a breakthrough film for Miramax in 1989.

Miramax has worldwide rights to the film which was written by Coleman Hough and will be produced by Scott Kramer (The Limey). No cast has yet been set for the film which Soderbergh describes in part as a "sex comedy."

"I'm extremely happy to be working with Miramax on How to Survive a Hotel Room Fire because Harvey Weinstein and I have been apart too long and the film was always envisioned as the unofficial sequel to sex, lies, and videotape," said Soderbergh in a statement.

sex, lies, and videotape is considered the defining film of the new American independent movement; it won the audience award at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival, went on to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes and put Miramax on the map with a $24.7m gross following its August 1989 opening. Less successful was the 1991 follow-up Kafka, and subsequently Soderbergh struck up a relationship with Universal Pictures on a string of films including King Of The Hill, The Underneath, Schizopolis, Out Of Sight and Erin Brockovich. He worked with other independents on other projects - with Artisan on The Limey and with Initial Entertainment Group and USA Films on Traffic.

Soderbergh also co-wrote the screenplay for Nightwatch, Ole Bornedal's 1998 remake of his own hit 1994 Danish hit, starring Ewan McGregor and Nick Nolte. The film was financed by Miramax and released in the US under the Dimension label.

Soderbergh is currently in post-production on his eagerly awaited remake of Ocean's 11, which was produced by Jerry Weintraub for Warner Bros. Set for release in the US on Dec 7, it stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia. Soderbergh has also written his own screenplay adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel Solaris - famously filmed by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 - which he plans to direct for James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment.

Bob Osher, Miramax co-president of production, and Eric Roth, Miramax senior vice president of business and legal affairs, negotiated the Hotel Room deal on behalf of Miramax. Soderbergh's manager Pat Dollard of Propaganda Management, and Michael Adler, of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, and Adler, negotiated on behalf of Soderbergh.

Harvey Weinstein and Osher will oversee the project for Miramax.

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